When the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing, where can the UK turn for low-carbon sources of energy? For Jim Al-Khalili, a physicist and broadcaster, the answer is simple: nuclear power.
“There’s still a role for nuclear power, given the seriousness of the climate crisis,” says Al-Khalili. Brought up in Iraq and educated at a Portsmouth comprehensive, Al-Khalili is a theoretical physicist, Fellow of the Royal Society and current president of the British Science Association. He holds a distinguished chair at the University of Surrey is a regular presenter of science programmes on BBC television and radio, notably The Life Scientific, and recently wrote his first science fiction novel, Sunfall.
As part of our Scientists Meets the Media series, Al-Khalili spoke to WIRED about avoiding AI scaremongering, why reliable science communication is more important than ever and the role that pharmaceutical firms must play in facing up to antibiotic resistance.
Jim Al-Khalili on climate change
What worries me the most is that countries around the world are still building coal fired power stations. This has to stop. Climate change is now part of the zeitgeist, as seen by the impact of Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion, which is a good thing. Because I am a nuclear physicist, I am interested in how we are going to help develop low carbon energy with the help of nuclear power.
I understand why people are nervous about this source of energy, and about the economics, but climate change trumps all of that. We can’t shy away from saying that we still need nuclear for when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine. Until we have developed new energy storage technologies, we need all the help we can get to cut carbon emissions.
On the rise of antibiotic resistance
We need to put more pressure on big pharma to lower the cost of developing new drugs and vaccines. At the moment, there does not seem to be enough motivation for them and perhaps this is understandable, with the cost of delivering a novel pharmaceutical taking a decade or longer and costing $2.6 billion (£2.05b), according to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.
We need to work on new rapid approaches given that bacteria evolve so quickly. Yes, there is more that can be done to cut antibiotic overuse by doctors, in veterinary medicine and agriculture but big pharma has to deliver new pharmaceuticals more quickly and cheaply.
On ethics in science
Given the rise of technologies such as CRISPR and embryonic research it is right to push for a moratorium on germline editing of human embryos, hard though it is. As for AI, developments are coming at us so thick and fast that it is impossible to slow down the pace of progress. Public perception, understanding, dialogue and the need for ethics and regulation has to catch up with reality.
Yes, there are bodies in place to study AI, and reports being written, but that information is being disseminated too slowly. AI is rising in importance, whether we like it or not, and I still don’t think that society is ready. The public are right to be concerned about whether they will end up out of work, and how much Alexa is logging our conversations but please let’s not extrapolate from these legitimate worries about narrow AI to Terminator, Skynet and machines taking over the world.
On the need for more diversity in science
I like to think that we are doing our bit on The Life Scientific, when I talk to leading researchers about their life and work on BBC Radio 4. I am often asked how I manage to get as many women as men on the programme. Well, with three series of eight episodes each year, the maths of equality is not difficult. The same goes for if you are recruiting for a board, organising a conference panel or whatever.
On the best and worst of today’s science
Reporting of science and really interesting developments is healthier than ever but far too many people still don’t know where to find reliable information in this era of fake news, when social media amplify conspiracy theories and people abuse science to justify any ideological position. When it comes to the gender debate, for example, we need a calm considerate reflection about this complex issue. There is thoughtful information out there but the trick is how to find it.
The Scientists Meet the Media event at the Science Museum in London was organised with the Royal Society, sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Innovation and supported by the Association of British Science Writers and WIRED.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
